COLUMBUS – Ohio’s lowest-paid workers will get a raise on Jan. 1.
The state’s minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $9.30 per hour, thanks to a wage increase approved by voters in 2006, who tied it to inflation so it would keep pace with rising prices.
Advocates of a higher national minimum wage say, if Congress done the same when they set the federal minimum wage in 1968, it would be worth about $13 per hour today.
“Raising Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026 would mean nearly 1.6 million Ohioans get paid more fairly for their work,” said researcher Michael Shields with the nonpartisan state policy research institute Policy Matters Ohio.
Although it is difficult to gauge the impact of a 15-cent adjustment in January 2019 because of job market disruptions caused by the DCOVID-19 pandemic, Shields estimated it affected approximately some 84,000 workers.
He says a higher, if Ohio joined the 11 other states and the District of Columbus which have raised their minimum wages to $15 an hour, it would address historically lower pay rates for women and minority workers.
“Many of these Ohioans are the frontline workers facing higher risk of COVID-19 as they deliver vital services we all rely on,” he said.
A $15 an hour wage would have the most impact on retail, restaurant and healthcare workers, Shields said.